The Wolowitz Conclusion

Chapter thirteen

Penny walked into her driveway and stared at her car. This was the first time she'd even attempted to drive since Sheldon's accident. She knew it was silly, she knew the odds of it happening to her were very slim, but every time she even thought about getting into the car she broke out in a cold sweat. Today was different, Raj had asked that she go pick him up from the airport so he could meet baby Kristian, he knew she'd been having trouble getting into a car so he wanted to help. He even said he would drive back for her if he wanted her too. Penny strapped Kristian into his seat and got in the front herself. Turning the ignition and driving off she felt a sense of freedom that she hadn't felt in months and the car didn't seem so scary any more.

As she pulled into the parking lot she relaxed a little. Getting Kristian into the stroller and walking to arrivals was lovely. She hadn't had much of a chance to show him off since her stitches had broken when they had taken the kids to cal tech and caught Howard and Hannah in the act. she walked down to arrivals and stood by the gate waiting patiently for Howard to walk through, as she looked and saw him she couldn't believe her eyes. Following him was Emily and a little girl following her

"Emily?" Penny smiled, giving her a big cuddle "long time no see"

"hi" Emily smiled pleased to see her too "I hear you have four children now"

"yep" Penny smiled thinking her heart would burst "what can I say, Leonard can't keep his hands off me"

"this is my daughter" Emily smiled "this is Sally"

"hello Sally" Penny smiled bending down to say hello before asking for help to get up again "how old are you"

"I'm five" sally smiled, clicking with Penny straight away

"no way" Penny smiled "I have a five year old called Elliot, maybe you'd like to meet him"

"yes please"

"excellent" Penny turned to Raj "and here's baby Kristian"

"oh wow" Raj looked down at the latest addition to the Hofstadter family and then looked back at Penny "he's even more beautiful in the flesh"

"he looks just like Leonard" Emily agreed

"come on, lets get you home" Penny smiled "Emily, would you like a ride"

"yes please" Emily answered, having been hoping that Penny would have said that "if that's okay"

"so, are you and Emily getting back together?" Penny asked Raj as soon as she got out of the car "that must've been weird meeting her like that after so long"

"we are going on a date" Raj smiled, obviously excited "we spent the whole flight just talking while Sally slept"

"she's so cute" Penny smiled "looks just like Emily"

"yep" Raj smiled "but I don't want to rub it in the others' faces so lets not talk about it straight away"

"okay" Penny agreed "although they know you've got a surprise to tell everyone"

"that's okay" Raj smiled, pleased that something was finally going right for him "I wont bring it up unless they do"

Penny took Raj back to the Hofstadter residence. Howard was staying at his apartment but he didn't want to see him first, he wanted to see Bernadette, Amy, Leonard and the kids. He would save the arguments and the hatred he was feeling for Howard until later. He wanted to give his nieces and nephew's a hug, and hold Kristian properly for the first time. He wanted to hug Bernadette tight and make clear he wasn't happy with Howard. That he was so angry with Howard that he didn't want to go back to his apartment and see his face. That for the first time in years, he didn't want to be anywhere near Howard Wolowitz.

"uncle Raj" Megan hobbled towards him, attempting to do so with just one crutch but failing miserably "I've missed you"

"you to Megan" Raj smiled as he hugged her so tight "how are you doing"

"not bad" Megan shrugged, Megan and Raj had a really close relationship, and Penny loved it. She knew that if ever her and Leonard couldn't get somewhere for any of the kids, Raj would be there for them, literally drop anything and go to them "it's not hurting so much any more"

"will you take me to soccer when I can go again?" Megan pleaded with him the excitement in her voice was obvious "I love it when you take me"

"of course" Raj smiled "I've missed taking you"

After hours and hours of talking, sorting things out and planning, Raj got into his car and drove home. He wanted to tell Howard to get out straight away, to leave his house and never return, but it was almost midnight and Raj wasn't that mean, he wanted to be, but he wasn't.

"hi" Howard opened his arms hoping for a hug from his best friend "did you have a nice vacation?"

"don't talk to me" Raj couldn't even bare to look at him "how could you do that to your family?"

"I hadn't had any sex in a year" Howard threw his hands in the air "I shouldn't have done it, but Bernadette isn't completely innocent in this"

"Bernadette IS completely innocent" Raj insisted "and so was Penny"

"oh for goodness sake" Howard was getting fed up of all the finger pointing "its not my fault that Penny was ill, she should have been able to control herself"

"Wow" Raj shook his head, thinking that maybe he was that mean "you cheat on your wife, break up a family, break your kids' hearts, almost kill your best friend's wife and suddenly none of it is your fault. Even though you're the one who all the paths lead to"

"I…"

"get out of my house" Raj screamed "I can't even look at you"

"where am I supposed to go?" Howard whispered, almost so quietly that he couldn't be heard "I have nowhere"

"why don't you call your girlfriend" Raj suggested sarcastically "or go to a hotel, or ring Elon Musk and ask him for an advance"

"oh so that's what this is about" Howard laughed "you're jealous that I have a job with Elon Musk"

"I couldn't care less" Raj insisted, truthfully "I wouldn't want to work for a company that employs people like you"

"people like me?"

"yes, liars, cheaters, people who cannot be trusted"

"okay, I'll go" Howard picked up his jacket and walked out of the door "I'll send for my stuff"

He's gone, I'll be back in the morning to see you. Raj xxxx

Bernadette looked at the message and smiled, she knew this must be really hard for Raj, he had been friends with Howard for years, yes they had had their ups and downs, but generally they had stuck together. Everyone was pleased that Raj had taken Bernadette's side, even though there wasn't really any other choice, but they knew that of all of them, Raj would find this the most difficult.